The present invention relates to a package and in particular to a package for a suncream.
The invention has been developed primarily for use with suncreams or other forms of sun screening creams and will be described hereinafter with reference to that particular application. It will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to that field of use and is also applicable to other skin care products. In this regard it should be noted that the term xe2x80x9csuncreamxe2x80x9d as used herein is intended to include any preparation intended for application to the skin of humans and which has:
a sun screening factor; or
the ability to reduce the intensity of ultraviolet (UV) radiation that would otherwise be incident upon the skin; or
a soothing or healing effect to skin which has become xe2x80x9csun burntxe2x80x9d or otherwise damaged due to exposure or over exposure to UV of other radiation.
Accordingly, this term encompasses after sun preparations, sun blocking creams, barrier creams or the like, whether or not these are intended for direct use as a suncream or whether contained within a cosmetic preparation.
Hitherto, sun creams or other skin care products have been packaged in conventional plastic or glass bottles to provide a convenient transportable reservoir of the cream. Often such bottles will carry information about the sun protection factor (SPF) offered by the cream or product contained within. The person or persons intending to use the cream as an impediment against skin damage caused by the sun""s rays, and more particularly by TV radiation, can use this information as a guide to the level of protection offered to their skin by the cream. However, SPF information is neither readily understood nor properly used by a significant percentage of the population and does not provide anything other than rudimentary information on the circumstances in which the cream will be beneficial.
It is an object of the present invention, at least in the preferred embodiment, to overcome or substantially ameliorate one or more disadvantages of the prior art.
According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a package for a suncream, the package defining a cavity for containing the suncream and display means for providing a person with an indication of the intensity of UV radiation incident upon the package.
Preferably, the display means indicates to the person that ambient conditions warrant the application of the cream to the person""s skin.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a package for containing a suncream, the package including display means for indicating to a person that one or more predetermined ambient conditions warrant the application of the cream to the person""s skin.
Preferably, the predetermined ambient conditions include the intensity of the UV radiation incident upon the package. In other embodiments, however, the predetermined ambient conditions include the temperature of the package.
More preferably, the package is a bottle which includes a base and at least one sidewall extending upwardly from the base to define a cavity for containing the suncream. Even more preferably, the sidewall includes an opening for allowing selective removal of the suncream from the cavity and being selectively closed by a lid. More preferably, the lid is rotatably mounted to the sidewall for movement between an open and a closed configuration.
In a preferred form, the display means is located on one or more of the following: the sidewall; the base; and the lid.
Preferably, the display means includes a region of photochromic material which changes colour in response to the intensity of the UV radiation incident upon the region. In other embodiments, however, the display means includes a region of thermochromic material which changes colour in response to the temperature of the region.
Preferably, the display means includes a multi-coloured strip located adjacent the region for indicating which of the colours taken by the region correspond to a high intensity of UV radiation.
Alternatively, the region includes the lid, wherein the sidewall, at least adjacent the opening, is coloured to correspond with the colour of the lid when a high level of UV radiation is incident thereupon.